A Different Story
by DauntlessThreeRavens
Summary: What happens when a mother loses her child, is fraught with grief, and is followed by destruction? Nothing usual that's for sure. Four years after Starfleet was attacked by Khan and she lost her son, single mother Alex is looking for a fresh start in her life. Little does she know that destruction will come to her life once more, but not in the way she expected.
1. Chapter 1: Nightmares

A/N: I hope you guys like it. I don't know how many people will actually read this, but I came up with this idea after watching the most recent Star Trek movie. Please read, review, and enjoy. Thanks! ~ Piper

 **Alex's Pov:**

 _Buildings crashed down as I ran through the city. Blue, red, and yellow flashed by me on every side. I heard booms and crashes, the zooming of ships flying above me and buildings falling next to me. All I heard was the voice in my head telling me to run._

" _Mommy!"_

 _I heard my ten-year-old son's voice calling out to me. I spun around in circles trying to spot him in the crowd. There! I sprinted over to him, to grab him and keep him safe. I was running, but he wasn't getting any closer, and the the building behind him began to fall. I started to get closer, I reached out to grab his hand, and then the building collapsed._

I shot up into a sitting position breathing heavily.

"Mom? You okay?" I heard my daughter open the door.

"Yeah, Claire, I am. Just another dream, you can go back to sleep."

"You were dreaming about Kai, weren't you?"

"That obvious huh?"

"Here mom, take these," Claire said, handing me pills, "They'll help you sleep."

"I'm okay Claire."

"No," she said, firmly, "You have a big day tomorrow."

"Fine, I'll take them," I said, "You okay?'

"Yes, mom. Just worried about you."

"Okay sweetie, If you're sure. Goodnight."

"I am," Claire said, smiling faintly, "Sleep well mom, I'll see you in the morning."

I laid back down to go to sleep. It had almost been three years since the attack that had taken my baby from me. I missed him so much. THe way he would crawl into my bed when he was scared, the way he would take care of me when I was. He was my ray of sunshine, and my life had been cloudy ever since that day. I just wished I hadn't lost him that fateful day when Khan had attacked our city, but the truth was it just wasn't meant to be. Just like my love life.

And with those thoughts, I fell asleep.

 **John's Pov:**

"John! Where is that boy?"

I shot to my feet, and turned to sprint down the hall. Sleeping on the job was my specialty, but it was definitely frowned upon by the captain. Not that I had a real job other than school work and bringing food to the crew on the bridge that couldn't get down to the cafeteria.

"John, I didn't bring you onboard this ship so you could sleep your way across the galaxy."

I turned back around and put the saddest puppy dog eyes I could on my face.

"Sorry, Cap," I said, running the back of my neck, "Just haven't been sleeping well is all."

"You've been having nightmares again haven't you?"

"So what if I have? Not like I can dream myself into remembering anything other than the face in my nightmares. I can't even remember my real name! I only remember stupid facts and school stuff from before."

"C'mere John," the captain said, opening his arms, "I love you bud. You come to mean so much to me over the past four years. You're part of my crew, making you family, and nothing can change that. You know I've tried to care for you like you're my own son."

"Thanks, Cap," I said going in for the hug.

"Captain you're needed on the bridge," A Russian voice sounded over a comm link.

"Be right there, Chekov," the captain said back through the comm, "John, I want you to go to your bunk and grab your school things, then report to the bridge. Commander Uhura is giving you a language test today, so I hope you've been practicing your Klignon."

I let out a groan, "Please no Cap, not Klingon, not today."

"You can talk to Uhura about that one. I'll see you up there in fifteen. If not you're scrubbing toilets."

"Fine," I grumbled out, "See ya then."

As I walked to my bunk, I turned back to watch as my captain walked back to the bridge. He cared for me, but rarely let it show. I knew that he cared though. I began to walk back to my bunk and wondered about the face I had seen earlier in my dreams. I couldn't shake the feeling that she actually existed, that she was alive and knew me, but then I shook my head. If anyone had known me, they would have looked for me before Cap found me. I had Cap to thank for my life. Captain James T. Kirk.


	2. Chapter 2: A Fresh Start

A/N: Next chapter is here and ready to be read and reviewed. I hope you all enjoy getting to see more into Alex's life. The next chapter will most likely be about John, and it will most likely just keep switching back and forth every other chapter. If I have a chapter in two parts I'll repeat a point of view, but I want to keep all of you updated on both sides of the story. Well go on and have fun reading, and let me know if you like it or hate it. Love you guys! ~ Piper

 **Alex's Pov:**

 _*beep* *beep* *beep*_

I hit the snooze button, and checked the time. The bright red numbers read "5:00 am." I threw off my covers, sat up, and pushed myself off the bed. I had an hour to get ready and leave if I was going to make it to my 6:30 meeting on time. I hopped in the shower, washed my hair and body, then got out. I dried off, throwing my hair up into a towel.

I walked over to my closet and grabbed my nicest uniform. I was one of three engineering, redshirt women in my class when I left the academy, but I decided to settle down with a family, rather than go on a ship. Now they were looking at me for a position helping with the upkeep of our newest outpost: Starbase Yorktown. I would also help to train other engineers who were new to the Starfleet program.

I was ready for the change of scenery, and they were going to let me bring my daughter with me if I was hired, so it would be a win-win all around. I pulled my hair out of the towel, blew it dry, and curled it down in soft, subtle ringlets. The way I did my hair made the blonde streaks stand out in my caramel colored hair.

I put on mascara, some lip color, and covered up the zits that had popped up within the last week. I looked at myself and smiled at how put together I looked. It was the first time in a few years that I felt like I looked good. After taking one last look in the mirror, I turned and walked out of my bedroom.

I made my way to the front door grabbing my keys from the tray by the door. I opened the door, and I started to walk out, when I was stopped by a quiet voice.

"Hey Mom?"

I turned around to look at my daughter. She was growing up so fast, and I could barely keep up with her anymore, but she always took care of me, especially now that Kai was gone.

"You're up early," I said worriedly, "Is everything okay, sweetie?"

"Oh yeah," she responded, "Everything is fine. I just wanted to wish you luck and give you the egg and bacon sandwich I made for you."

"Oh Claire, thank you so much," I said, pulling her in for a tight hug, kissing her forehead, "And you gave me the one thing I had almost forgotten, breakfast. Now go back to sleep, and I'll let you know how it goes when I get home from work tonight. Please don't be late to school and come straight home after. If you want to go somewhere just call me and I'll make a decision with you over the phone."

"Okay Mom, I love you."

"I love you too, baby girl. See you later."

"Bye," she said giving me one last hug. "And mom?"

"Yeah?"

"You're gonna do great."

After saying those last words she turned around and walked back through the house to her room, and I walked out the door. We didn't have a car or anything because we didn't need one. We lived close enough to Claire's school and my work, that it didn't really matter. Plus it kept us both in shape, walking around as much as we did. Today, however, was different, I had an interview and needed to look my best, so I hired a driver.

"Please state your full name," the interviewer said.

"Alexandria Marie Douglas," I stated.

"Reason for applying?"

"Change of scenery."

"It says here on the application that you marked the box for children. How many do you have?"

"Two, I mean one," I said correcting myself, "Just my Claire."

"You said two why?"

"Almost four years ago I lost my son. When Starfleet was attacked by Khan."

"I'm sorry to hear that, how old was he?"

"Ten."

"I am very sorry indeed. Is this why you applied?"

"One of the main reasons, yes."

"You credentials and qualifications top those of any other candidate so far. So it is very plausible that you will get the job. May I ask why you didn't go onto a ship after you graduated?"

"I wanted to have a family before I gave myself the chance to die, sir."

"And would you choose to change that decision, if you were able to go back that is?"

"Not for the world. I love my daughter with all my heart, and I would never give her up for a life of adventure. I like working on ships and teaching students more anyway. I'm too much of a people person to get sucked into the trap of a crew for years."

"Well, thank you for talking with me Ms. Douglas. I will call you this afternoon with answer."

"Thank you sir. I will be eagerly waiting for your response."

I left the interview with high hopes for the future. I hated that I had had to talk about Kai, but I knew that it would give me more of a chance to get out of this place that reminded me of him so. I decided that before work I would go visit him and tell him all the things that had been going on for me and Claire. I needed to say goodbye before I left on this adventure or I would never forgive myself.

I walked to the cemetery, and went straight to the headstone.

 _~ Kai Douglas_

 _Beloved Son and Brother_

 _Aspiring Medic and Linguist_

 _You will forever be missed ~_

I sat down in front of it, crossed my legs and started telling him about everything that had been going on.

"I'm up for a new job right now. It's pretty exciting. Claire and I are holding out for a chance to see some of the galaxy. How much of the galaxy do you get to see from up there? I know how much you used to love looking at the stars when you couldn't sleep."

"Do you think I made a good choice Kai? Do you think moving away is good? You always had the right answers for me. It's not that I want to forget you, because I would never do that. I mean you're constantly in my dreams so how could I? I think Claire and I just need some time to not walk around every corner and picture you there."

I began to cry. I wanted to talk to my boy, my darling Kai. Yet there was no way I could do that because he was gone, and he wasn't coming back. I dried my eyes stood up and placed my hand on the headstone whispering one last goodbye before heading off to work.


	3. Chapter 3: Klingon

A/N: It's time for a John chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far, I know it takes a bit for stories to get started, but I hope you will all bear with me. I am having a lot of fun with this story, and I hope you guys are able to read ,review, and enjoy! Thank you all so much. Love you guys! ~ Piper

 **John Pov:**

 _Klingon,_ I thought to myself, _Why do I need to learn Klingon? There is literally no reason. I'm not going to become Uhura when I grow up. Just because I'm good at learning something doesn't mean I need to learn it all the time. Plus Klingon is really hard._

I didn't even know how all of this had happened. One day I was dazed, then waking up in a hospital, then being visited by Cap. I didn't have any of my own memories, only the things that I had learned. I had no family, no life, outside of that hospital, but Cap took me in. I lived with him until he was supposed to leave on his mission to explore the reaches of the universe that no one had ever been yet.

He had tried to find a boarding school to take me, or at the very least find someone who could take me in for the five years he was on his mission, but he couldn't find anyone who would readily take care of a damaged child. I was going on eleven back then, and Cap felt like I needed something steady. He didn't want to just leave me in a hospital, but from where I stood (about to have another Klingon lesson) I kinda wanted to be back in that hospital. I shook my head at myself.

 _Look at me,_ I thought, chuckling, _Wishing to be in hospital, when any kid would kill to be in my shoes. I'm up here in space, learning languages, seeing different cultures, and getting to see firsthand what life is like on a Starfleet ship._

I heard the doors open, and I walked onto the bridge. I overheard Cap and Spock going back and forth about something having to do with emotions, something that Spock definitely isn't an expert on. I walked over to Uhura's desk, and set down my book bag.

"Any idea what's going on there?" I asked Uhura, nodding in the general direction of the pair.

"Nope. No idea at all," she answered curtly, "And what is the pleasure of you showing up at my desk today?"

"Klingon," I replied in an enthusiastic tone.

"Is that today?" Uhura asked, putting her head in her hands, "I completely forgot. Okay, well Jim will kill me if I just let you get off the hook for the day, so give me a page and a half of conversational Klingon, and then you can go. But don't even think about telling Jim."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I replied smiling.

I pulled out my notebook, and began to write in Klingon. This was definitely the most difficult language I had ever come across, but when Uhura started teaching me different languages I seemed to have a basic understanding of certain languages so the languages she tried to teach me came really easily. After three years, I knew Spanish, French, English, German, Russian, and Dutch. Since I had done so well, we moved on to Klingon, and I hated it so far. It wasn't that it was super hard for me or anything, in fact it was easier than it was for some people, but I needed a break from languages.

"How's the Klingon looking bud?" Jim asked, walking up to the desk.

"Boring," I said, focusing on my paper.

"Klingon is an ancient language that is necessary if Starfleet will be able to bring peace to the galaxy," Uhura stated indignantly.

"Thank you for that lovely nugget of information, Lieutenant," Jim said, with a smirk, "John once you finish you're free until dinner. Although I do have something I want to discuss with you later."

"Yeah sure Cap," I said, nodding in his direction, "Thanks for the day off."

"You're welcome, now don't waste it."

Cap walked away, and I kept on writing. I had a page done, and all I had left was the conclusion of the conversation. I hadn't been able to think of anything to have the conversation be on, so I had written a mock conversation between Spock and Kirk, granted I didn't use their names.

"Here you go," I said, handing the paper over.

Uhura looked over my paper, marking the errors and making sure it looked correct.

"Do you think you could speak this as a narrative with someone?"

"I believe so, I have a couple of words I have some pronunciation issues with, but I could work on those."

"Well then we are done for today," she said smiling, "As long as you practice before our next lesson. I promise I won't forget. A lot came up in the past couple of days."

"I figure I shouldn't ask," I said, backing away slowly.

"Correct, now go bother someone other than me, like Jim or Bones."

"I think I just might do that. Thank you for the lovely suggestion."

I walked off the bridge, but instead of walking down to the medics bay I walked back to my cabin. When I got there I closed the door behind me and set it so it wouldn't open for a while, unless it was an emergency of course. I opened up my pack, and pulled out my sketchbook. My specialty was a very old cartoon style. I used to copy old works from these books called Calvin and Hobbes and films by a company called Disney. I loved doing these 2D drawings and bringing them to life by adding words.

I put my earbuds in and started my music. It was a playlist of songs from over the decades. I turned it to my favorite "I'll Never Leave Your Side" by the Starlighters, and started the shuffle of songs. I started to tap my pencil to the beat of the song, and then started drawing lines on the page.


	4. Chapter 4: Good News?

A/N: Hey guys, sorry I haven't been around lately, but here is the latest chapter. I've been meaning to update sooner, but I hit a rough patch that included a bit of writer's block. I hope you guys enjoy! Please read and review. Love you guys! ~ Piper

 **Alex's Pov:**

My phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

 _~ Yes, Miss Douglas, are you available to talk right now? ~_

"Yes, sir."

 _~ We have concluded that you would be the best candidate for the job, seeing as you already have met many of the requirements that would be needed of you. You would of course be leaving at the end of the week, giving you time to get your affairs in order. ~_

"Yes sir. Of course sir. I will get right on that and be ready to go by the end of the week week."

 _~ I'm glad to hear that. I'll talk to you again before you leave, but after that you'll be met by people out there. ~_

"Of course. Thank you so much for this opportunity."

I hung up the phone, and started squealing and jumping up and down. Everyone at work started looking at me like I was crazy.

"Sorry everyone!" I hollered out, walking back to grab my tools.

I clipped my tool belt around my waist, and walked over to the ship that was parked in the garage.

"What've we got today, Kendall?"

"Shields are out, main shell needs repair, and we need to do an overall check and report of the ship to make sure it's ready to fly," Kendall, my number one, replied.

Our job was to repair ships for their voyages across the universe. If anything happened we fixed it, and we did regular check-ups as well. I loved getting my hands dirty and making repairs. It was one of my favorite things. I loved hearing the engine of a ship purr, making sure the time-warp engines were running smoothly, and the ship not drop out of the sky without prior provocation.

"Well, I'll get started on the shields, while you get a team working on the outside. You take the rest and start the normal tune up checklist," I said, divvying out the shifts for the day.

"Aye, aye Cap'n," Kendall joked with me.

"Oh shut up," I said, pushing her towards the crew.

"I'm going, I'm going," she said, raising her hands in mock surrender.

Kendall was my co-worker and best friend. We had met a couple years after I had had Kai when we were hired by Starfleet to work as mechanics on their ships. We both loved our jobs, even though I ended up being more like her boss. Whenever we had days off we would go to the bar and catch up. I didn't know how I was going to tell her that I was moving.

I decided that instead of thinking about feelings, which I had never been good at, that I would focus on fixing the shields. I walked onto the bride of the _U.S.S. Concord_ and took a look around. I wondered what life would have been like if I had chosen to go on a ship rather than start a family. Well, I guess starting a family had never been my first choice.

All most stories about girls ruining their careers, there was this boy. He wasn't in the Starfleet program, but from what I had known, one or both of his parents were. I was older than him, he was the typical bad boy, and I was only a couple years into my schooling. A few months later I was pregnant with Kai, and I decided to finish my schooling, but then go straight into being a parent with a lower job than I had wanted. I did, of course, love my jobs I had had over the years, but I missed my chance to be on a ship. I could apply now, but I didn't know their policies on kids, and I couldn't leave Claire behind. Not for as long as usually happened on these ships.

I loved my children, but I also loved the stars and the galaxies containing them. My dreams could someday come true, and that first step was Starbase Yorktown. I couldn't wait to tell Claire, but first I had to get through the rest of my workday.

 **John Pov:**

I kept right on drawing. I was going to keep going until I could just forget everything. I had music in my head and ink on my paper.

"That's a nice sketch there."

I jumped, drawing a dark line through my sketch, swearing under my breath.

"C'mon Cap," I said, groaning, "You said I had until dinner."

"Just coming to check on you," Jim said, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "I'll leave now if you want."

"No," I said pausing, "It's alright. You can stay until they need you on the bridge."

I had grown accustomed to Jim checking in on me. He was like a dad to me. I mean he had found me, nursed me back to health, and then wouldn't go on this voyage without me. He had helped me a lot, especially since I couldn't remember the majority of my life.

I kept sketching and listening to my music, while Jim studied me and my sketches.

"These are good," he said.

"Eh," I said, shrugging my shoulders, "I don't think they're that great. It's fun though, and it calms me down."

"You can't tell me that this isn't good," Jim said, holding up a caricature of himself. It was one of my better sketches. I had done it while he was lecturing me about something or other, and in all honesty it did look a lot like him.

"Okay, fine, but I dare you to find someone other than a father figure who would tell me that."

"Fine, don't believe me, but you really are good," Jim said.

"So what did you want to ask me?" I asked, changing the subject.

"You sure you like it okay here on the ship?"

"Why?" I asked, continuing to sketch.

"Well," Jim started, "We're going to be stopping at Starbase Yorktown before continuing on our voyage, and I thought that maybe you might like to stay there for a few months until we bring the Enterprise back around for ya."

"But here I'm up in space, with you and the only family I've ever known. Why would I want to leave that?"

"To meet people your age, to learn in an actual school, to explore a new place, to meet people your age," Jim drifted off.

"You said that one already."

"Hmm?" Jim said smirking.

"You already said that one."

"So what if I did? You need to get out, meet people, meet," Jim said, pausing and raising his eyebrows, "Girls."

"Shut up Cap," I said, trying to hide my blushing.

"Just think about it bud, okay?"

"Okay dad sheesh I will."

Jim took a hard look at me, then turned and walked out the door, still holding my caricature of him.


	5. Chapter 5: Meetings and Mess-Ups

A/N: Hey guys! I had a huge bout of writer's block on this chapter, but now it's done! I hope you guys enjoy it, and I would definitely, definitely love to get some feedback from you lovely people. So as always read, review, and enjoy! - Piper

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or stories of Star Trek, but I do own my characters and this story, so I please ask that you let them remain mine. Thanks!**_

 **Alex Pov:**

"Claire? You almost ready to go?" I called out picking up my napsack.

I took a long look around the room, only boxes and large pieces of furniture left to look at. It was time to move out to Starbase Yorktown, and we were ready. Claire had been very excited for me when I told her I had gotten the job. I was surprised she was okay with it because she would most likely be home schooled for at least the first couple years of living there. She had told me that she needed the change just as much as I did, so we were moving.

"Here mom," Claire said popping up next to me.

"Ready to go?"

"Yup," Claire replied, "You sure you want to do this mom?"

"It's a better job, and it gives us a break from our routine here. We need a break Claire," I said, resting my hand on her arm, "This is just how we're going to have to get it."

"Alright mom," Claire replied, "I'm excited by the way."

"Yeah?" I asked, "Well that's good."

"Are you?"

"Yes baby, I am."

I took one last look around my house with tears in my eyes. I had lived in this place since I moved to go to Starfleet Academy. Now, I was leaving, and I wasn't ready to let it all go. I needed the change and couldn't do anything about it. I reached out to close the door behind me as I walked out the door behind Claire.

We climbed into the bus that was going to take us to Starfleet's headquarters, and I didn't look back. I gave one last thought to the life I was leaving behind, and shook it out of my head. I was leaving Earth, and that was going to stop my thinking about Earth. This was our new start. I knew that if I stopped telling myself that, then I wouldn't be able to ever forget. I wouldn't ever move on, and I needed to for my daughter's sake.

We arrived at Starfleet Headquarters, and I checked my phone. I had a message saying I had a meeting before we were scheduled to get on the starship that was going to be taking us to Yorktown.

"Claire, baby?"

"Yeah mom?"

"I have to go to a meeting. It'll take an hour tops, then we'll be leaving. Will you be okay to hang out here?"

"Of course mom. I'll be sitting over there reading until you get back."

"Thank you darling. I'm so sorry about this," I said kissing her on the forehead.

"It's cool mom, see ya later," Claire replied.

I wanted to get off this planet. I didn't want to go to a stupid meeting that I hadn't even known about until just now. I just wanted to get away, but I guess that was too much to ask for. I walked to the Admiral's office, and waited outside to be called in.

"The Admiral will see you now Miss Douglas," the secretary said, calling for me to go into the office.

I walked over to the door, and pushed it open, walking through it and into the office. The Admiral's office was the size of a common house living room, so for an office it was huge. I looked around and saw pictures of past crews on the walls and models of ships on tables around the office.

"Ah Miss Douglas, you're here."

"Yes, sir. What did you want to talk to me about exactly?" I asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into, and to also make sure that the proper arrangements were made for you and your kids," the Admiral said.

"K-kids sir?" I asked, stuttering.

"Yes, kids," the Admiral scoffed, "You have two kids."

"No sir, just one. I lost my Kai almost three years ago," I replied, eyes watering.

"I am so sorry Miss Douglas, I didn't know."

"That's alright sir, I don't expect people to know about my personal life any more than I know about theirs. So what exactly did you want to go over with me?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you got all of your living arrangements and work papers ready before you head up there. Once you're there you'll be too busy to arrange any of it while you're getting settled."

"Yes sir. Claire, my daughter, is all set up for school up there, and I'm all set to start teaching a week after we get there. We have an apartment all set up for us when we arrive. I already have our things sent ahead so that we can unpack when we get there."

"Well it sounds like you have it all covered, then I'll let you get back to your daughter. Have safe travels, and I can't wait to see the good you do there."

"Thank you, sir."

The Admiral nodded to the door giving me my sign to leave, and I walked back out the door that I had walked in earlier. I felt my gut drop as I walked out thinking about my boy. I missed him so much. The way he used to tell me everything was okay whenever something bad happened. The way he used to take care of me and his sister. How he used to care for everyone like they were his family even though he might not know them. I wiped away the few tears that had fallen down my face, and held my head up high. I needed to keep it together for Claire's sake, and to keep myself sane. I needed to let my Kai fall into the past, and walk into my new future without him.

I loved my boy, but I needed to stop mourning.

 **John Pov:**

 _What have I done?_ I thought, _I pissed off the one guy who cares about me. I need to go find McCoy, he'll tell me what I did wrong._

I set down my sketchbook and walked out of my room. I walked down to the medbay, but I didn't find McCoy down there, which meant that he would be with Cap, and in all honesty I would be fine with that. It would definitely give me a chance to figure out if he was mad at me or not. I wandered down towards the mess hall and heard voices as I passed the bar.

"Dad?"

"That's what he called me Bones, he called me dad."

"Well you kind of are his dad. You've been taking care of him since you found him."

"Still, Bones, he's never called me dad. By the way, have you seen these drawings of his? I didn't even know he could draw."

"I don't see what the big deal is, Jim. He basically is your son, so why does that scare you?"

"I'm not the "dad" type Bones, never have been, never will be."

I had heard enough, I walked back to my bunk, locked the door, and turned my music on full blast. I hadn't meant to call him dad, it had just come out. Even if I wanted him to be my dad, I wasn't gonna get it. He didn't ever want to be a dad. He didn't want me as his son.

 _Starbase Yorktown,_ I thought, laying down and closing my eyes, _That proposition is sounding better and better already._

I turned off the light and stared at the stream of stars passing over my ceiling. I had rigged a video camera to patch the stars through so I had them on my roof to help me calm down. I thought I had a family here, but I realized now that I didn't. I felt so stupid, how could I have slipped up like that? It didn't matter now because I knew how Cap felt, and I decided to go to bed because I just wasn't hungry for dinner. I couldn't deal with seeing Cap tonight… Not after everything that had happened.

I turned on my side, closed my eyes, and willed away the tears coming to my eyes.


	6. Not A Chapter (So Sorry)

_A/N: Hey guys so obviously this isn't a chapter, and I suck at being current. I hope you guys don't hate me. Right now I don't have wifi, but I'm supposed to get it Monday, so you can expect a chapter at latest on Tuesday, but there should be one Monday night. Love you all! ~ Pipes_


	7. Chapter 6: Portraits and People

**Alex Pov:**

Starbase Yorktown was as magnificent as they had said it would be. It was a man made planet that was practically self-sufficient. Claire and I got off of the ship that had brought us, and made our way to our apartment in a couple of transporter tubes. We reached our apartment, and I unlocked the door.

"Ready?" I asked Claire, reaching out for the handle, grasping it in my hand.

"Ready," Claire responded with a smile, placing her hand on top of mine.

Together we turned the handle, opening the door to our new home. It was a three bedroom apartment with two bathrooms. I had one bathroom in what was to be my room, and there was one that would be Claire's that would also be used for company. The extra room was going to be an office and entertainment room with a foldout couch for any company who might come to stay.

As we set foot into our main living space, which was bigger than any of the rooms, but still not very big. We would be able to fit a couch and some book shelves, as well as a table and chairs for us to eat our meals at. The kitchen was a good enough size that we would be able to cook when we wanted and place take out on the counter when we didn't.

Other than the unpacking that we needed to do our apartment was otherwise set up with our furniture and the spaces were nicely filled. I let Claire make her way into her room, as I made my way into mine. I grabbed a couple of boxes, opening up a few, and started hanging up my Starfleet uniforms and casual clothing. I also moved my dresser into my closet to keep all of my clothing in the same place, and moved my bedroom around to resemble what it had looked like in my old place. I was a creature of habit, and I wasn't ready to run into any furniture or anything.

Once I had my room settled, and the things that I needed for the next day unpacked and put away, I went to check on Claire. I walked over to her room, knocking on the door, waiting before walking in.

"Come in," I heard Claire say in a soft voice.

"Hey sweetie," I said, opening the door. She was unpacking her books and already had her clothes put away, along with having her bed made, "You hungry? I was thinking we could go walk around and find somewhere to go eat and then do some grocery shopping."

"Yeah, sure," Claire replied, continuing to put her books up on their shelves.

"Okay, then," I smiled, "I'll go get ready, and meet you by the door in fifteen."

"Okay, mom."

I made my way back to my room and got ready, throwing my hair up into a pony tail and throwing on some tennis shoes to go with my tank top and capri look. I grabbed my bag, and I walked to the door, meeting Claire there before going out for the night.

 **John Pov:**

I awoke to Cap shaking my arm, trying to get me up.

"I don't want dinner Cap," I said, flipping myself over, so I wouldn't face him.

"Well, good, cause I'm here to get you up for breakfast," he replied with a chuckle, "You were asleep when I came to get you last night, and I figured you had decided to go to bed early when you wouldn't respond. So now it's time for breakfast."

"Oh," I yawned out, sitting up, "I'll be right there."

Cap walked out of my cabin, and I got ready for my day. I got dressed, and grabbed my pack, making my way to the cafeteria. I made sure my school supplies and headphones were in there along with my drawing supplies, and walked through the door. It was just me and a few of the other red and blue shirts. The main crew was up on the bridge already, so I didn't have to deal with any of them. I ate, and then made my way to the archive room. No one ever went in there because there was never much reason for them to do research, but even when they did go in, none of the crew could really find me in the corner.

I walked over behind the shelves, and threw in one of my earbuds, that way I would still be able to hear if Cap called me to the bridge. I pulled out a few of my old Klignon lessons, studying them, the way the words looked, the way they sounded. I made the separate sounds, forming the words silently to myself, then saying them aloud more progressively. I wanted to be ready when Uhura quizzed me during my next lessons. I proceeded to look up an archived book on medicines and started to read through it, knowing I was going to be starting more lessons with McCoy whenever he was able to teach me.

"John, please report to the bridge," an overhead voice announced, causing me to put my things away and make my way to the bridge.

I reached the bridge with my bag slung over my shoulder. I kept my head down so I wouldn't make any knowing eye contact with Spock or Uhura, or even McCoy for that matter. I looked ahead to Cap's chair, stopping just within earshot to listen to overhear him and McCoy having a similar conversation to the night before.

"Hey Cap, McCoy," I announced myself as I got closer to the chair, not wanting to hear that conversation again.

"Hey kid," McCoy responded. Jim, however, kept looking at me with that same look he had given me the night before. I avoided eye contact with him by just looking at Bones, trying to keep my energy the same it had been before.

"You wanted to see me Cap?" I asked, running a hand through my hair and looking towards him.

"Oh, uh yeah, you're with Bones today," Jim said, adding, "You doing okay bud?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded.

"Your tone does not denote…"

"Not the time Spock," I interrupted, "So Bones, lead the way." I made my way to the door, waiting for Bones at the door to the bridge.

"Jim, may I speak to you for a moment?" I heard Spock ask Jim as McCoy made his way over to me.

"What's up Spock?" Jim questioned him in reply, as McCoy nodded at me to walk out the door.

"I have a concern about John…"

That was all I heard, but I knew it was more about me and I didn't want to hear it. I followed Bones down to the medbay, and set my bag down where he always had me place it. I sat in a chair waiting for him to tell me what to do, but in return I only got a stare like he would typically be giving Cap.

"What?" I asked him in a curt tone.

"Oh you know what," he replied in his usual knowing tone, "I've been with Jim for awhile, and I can smell bad when it's near me. So spill."

"I overheard you guys last night," I said quietly, realizing that we weren't going to be doing any work today. I pulled out my sketchbook and pencils, getting ready to draw.

"You really never go anywhere without that sketchbook do you?"

"I didn't have it when I went to find you last night," I sniped at him.

"Of course you went looking for me, what's the only rational thing for Jim to do?" McCoy asked rhetorically, chuckling to himself, "You two are a lot alike."

"Probably because everything I've ever known is him, I'm never going to get my old self back. All I know to do is what Cap would do. He just happened to find you first."

"So what did you need to ask me last night?" Bones asked me.

"Why is Cap giving me that look? The one he was giving me this morning. I didn't mean to call him that, and now I've got Spock "concerned," so that's a whole thing in and of itself," I groaned out, sketching out Bones with his signature look.

"Spock concerned? Now that's something I'd pay to see. And Jim," McCoy sighed out, "Well Jim has father issues, so he'll never be ready to be a father, even though he probably already is somewhere."

I laughed at the joke, and stared hard at McCoy, "Do you think he'll get over it and just let it drop?"

"Spock or Jim?" McCoy asked with a joking tone, "But seriously, no I don't think he'll just drop it. Although, I don't believe he'll talk to you about it very soon either. Just let it work it's own way out. He just needs to figure everything out for himself."

"Yay, so maybe I should take that time on Yorktown that he was telling me about."

"What are you talking about?" McCoy asked me quickly, looking confused.

"He didn't tell you? He wanted me to think over staying on Starbase Yorktown until the ship comes back around to refuel for the trip home. He thinks it would be good for me to have some extended time off the ship. To go to an actual school and meet people my own age. He said we could work it out if he could find somewhere for me to stay."

"Girls?" Bones asked in response.

"What?" I queried in response, looking up from my nearly finished sketch of Bones.

"He said girls specifically didn't he?"

I laughed, "Yeah he did."

"But wait, that would mean that you wouldn't be around for the next couple of years, wouldn't it? Jim's really gonna just let you go like that?"

"I guess. So are we done here?" I asked, packing up my stuff. I left the sketch of Bones sitting on the table where I had been sitting.

"Yeah, I've gotta go find Jim," McCoy said sternly, "Oh and by the way if you see Spock, I was never here."

"Whatever you say Bones," I said laughing, heading off to my cabin.


	8. Chapter 7: Final Decisions

**Alex Pov:**

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock going off. It was 5:30 in the morning, and today was the day I started my new job, training students in mechanics. I was nervous, but I knew they wouldn't have put me in this position if they didn't think I could do it. I got up and showered, getting dressed in a red Starfleet issue dress and fixing my pin on the top left hand corner of the dress. I then made my way out to the kitchen to fix some bacon and eggs for my daughter and myself.

I made my way to Claire's room, around 6:30, making sure she was up and getting ready for her day of classes. It was going to be her first day at a new school so I was worried she might not be ready yet, but I found her already dressed and ready to go, just finishing her hair.

"Hey darling," I said tenderly to her, "Breakfast is ready."

"Thanks mom!" Claire said excitedly, walking out to the table to begin eating.

I followed her out to the table, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting across from her. I started eating slowly, taking in the girl that was my ever growing daughter. She looked stunning, and I just knew she would make a good first impression, I only hoped that she would be able to gain a few friends as well. She hadn't gotten close to anyone since Kai had died, and I hoped she would be able to make some friends. I hoped I would be able to make some friends.

Once she was ready to go, I wished her luck and watched as she made her way out the door to her new life, only to follow her out five minutes later to begin mine. I took my time to look around as I made my way to work. I saw tall buildings all around, and plant life that seemed like it shouldn't be able to grow on a manmade planet. I felt the leaves on the plants as I walked past each bush and tree, a smile on my face.

I was happy to have a new place to explore and live, a place where Kai could become my past rather than my whole life. I never wanted to forget Kai, but I also wanted to have a life apart from my mourning. I kept walking taking in the sights and sounds, reminiscing to when I had been in the academy. I wondered if Claire was wanting to go into Starfleet, but I let that thought leave my mind so I didn't have to focus on her potentially leaving me or being in danger.

I reached the building where I was going to be spending a good amount of my time, and I walked through the door. I made my way to the main office, to meet with the head of the school to figure out where my workshop was to be.

"Excuse me," I asked the receptionist, "I need to speak to Admiral Johnson please."

"Yes, it'll be just one moment, why don't you just take a seat right over there while you wait," she suggested.

I walked over to take a seat, waiting for the Admiral to come out and greet me. I was excited that I was going to be a teacher, and excited to be back to working on ships. I heard a door open and looked up to see Admiral Johnson motioning for me to enter his office. I walked in and stood in front of his desk, waiting for him to walk around to the back of his desk.

"You made it here fine Ms. Douglas? Are you settling in well?" he asked me.

"Yes sir, everything is fine," I responded, "Almost unpacked and fully settled in. May I ask where the workshop is that I'll be in most of the time?"

"That is all the way at the other end of this schooling area, it is a ship hangar where you can keep up to five ships at a time. You'll be able to show the students how to work on the ships while they are in your hangar, but there generally won't be the same ship there for more than a few classes. Your job when you aren't teaching is to help patch up ships."

"Yes sir," I said, "So am I off to work then?"

"Yes Ms. Douglas you are free to go," Admiral Johnson said, dismissing me, "Enjoy your day."

"Yes, sir," I responded, taking my leave. I made my way to the hangar, excited to be back in a familiar seeming place. This was the only part of the planet similar to my old life, and I was okay with that. The workshop was my favorite place, the workshop was where I belonged.

 **John Pov:**

I sat in my cabin, listening to music and practicing Klingon and reading up on other types of medical procedures I might need to know something about. It took a lot for me to focus on all of the work I was trying to get done, so I closed my books and decided to head to the mess hall. I stood up, leaving my headphones in, and left my room. I made my way through the lesser used halls, hoping I wouldn't run into anyone who would stop me to talk.

I look around realizing that the halls were pretty much abandoned, and stopped to think. It was really weird that no one was really walking around, but then I looked at the time. Almost everyone would be in the mess hall eating while the rest would either be sleeping or on shift. I cursed to myself, making a move to turn around and move back to my bunk, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I took out my headphones, turning around to see who it was.

"Hey there John," Uhura said, pursing her lips in a way that only she could, "Where are you heading?"

"Oh, um, I was just heading back to my cabin," I replied, running a hand through my hair, "I hadn't checked the time and I, well, I'll just get something later."

"I see you and Jim are still avoiding each other," she replied, crossing her arms, "Well you're still going to sit and eat, otherwise we're going to have an impromptu Klingon lesson right here, right now."

"You drive a hard bargain," I spoke, glaring straight through her, "But fine, I'll stay and eat, but I'm not talking to Jim unless he talks to me about what's been going on."

"Okay, I wasn't going to ask that much of you," she chuckled out.

We walked into the mess hall and I went and found a seat by Scottie at one of the main tables. Cap was there too, next to Bones, and Spock was there as well. Uhura sat down away from Spock, getting a look from Bones, who was wondering what was going on between them.

"Why 'ello there, laddie," Scottie, said to me, slapping me on the back in welcome.

"Hey Scottie," I responded, eating the food on my plate.

"It's been a wee little while since I last saw ya, hasn't it been?" He asked me.

"You know I'm not into mechanics they way you are Scottie," I say, with a chuckle, "I can't read ships the way you can."

"Aye laddie, that be true," he replies, laughing out, most likely remembering the time that I almost crashed the ship by disabling the warp drive. Let's just say it was a bad experience, and now I don't receive lessons on mechanics.

I hear mumbling across from me, and look up to see Bones elbowing Cap while they're looking at me. I just shake my head and keep eating, trying to ignore everyone. I figure I'll go to Starbase Yorktown, especially with Cap not wanting to talk to me anymore, and it might be nice to meet new people anyway. I might as well announce it now in front of everyone, but I decided to finish my food first. Then, I stood up.

"Hey everyone," I started, looking around, but not making eye contact with anyone specifically, "I just though all of you should know that when we reach Starbase Yorktown I'm going to stay there while you all finish your mission. I'm going to meet new people and have new experiences, and if you want to know more on the reason why, then you can talk to Jim."

I grabbed my tray, placing it with all the others, and walked out of the room. I didn't wait for any responses, I knew it would be a lot of confusion, and I was just as confused as everyone else in the room probably was. I made my way back to my cabin, and shut the door. I turned off all my lights and grabbed my mp3, throwing in my earbuds. I sat there in the dark, music blaring, knees drawn up to my chin, and arms wrapped around my legs. I watched as stars drifted by, across the great expanse of the night sky.


	9. Chapter 8: First Sightings

_A/N: So, hey guys, I'm back for a chapter at least. I am going to try to update more often, but I don't want to promise you guys anything to be updated soon. Typically because I ruin all of my promises with lack of writing. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter and please don't forget to read and review! Love to ya all! - Piper_

Alex Pov:

When I reached the hangar I was practically in shock at how updated it was from my last one. I had some of the most up to date tools and systems that I had ever seen. I was amazed by it all. There were a couple of ships that were there to be worked on and tuned up before they went back out into space, so I decided that before my first class I would check them out so I could decide what to teach them about first.

As I walked onto the first ship I hooked up my touch pad to find out what was going on with it, only to find that it just needed to have a tune up and have everything checked and worked on. The second ship had a little bit more that it needed in terms of detail, mainly because it's break systems and warp core needed to be changed out and updated.

With this, I decided that I would have my students work tuning up the ships, and then I'd start with the other fixes after the classes of the day. I figured that this would work well for the first day of classes anyway. As I walked off of the second ship, I saw a group of teenagers trickling into the hangar bay. I adjusted my dress as I approached them all.

"Hello, students, you can just set your bags down by the wall over there, and then come stand over here by me," I said, as I walked over to the main workbench. I waited for everyone to straggle in and then began to talk to the class again, "I am Lieutenant Alexandra Douglas, but in all honesty I would be fine with it if you just called me Alex. I may not have experience working on board a ship in space, but I am one of the best repairmen in Starfleet, which is why they are trusting me to train you. Once I go over roll call, I will give you your positions for the class, and I expect us to be done with the tune up on one of these ships by the end of class."

I smiled at them genuinely before pulling out my class roster. I called out their names and found that everyone was there, luckily, so I wouldn't have to worry about to many students dropping my class. I then gave out their assignments, and I watched how well they worked together, alone, and on a regular tune up. I watched as they did the simple tasks it took to tune up the ships, and I was quite pleased to find out that they knew their fundamentals. At the end of the class I let them all go, letting them know that we would be working on fundamentals for only a couple more days before I moved them into more technical workings of ships.

Once I had my second class moving out of the classroom, I was alone and I realized that it was my first down time all day. Of course that meant that I started thinking about the past year, Kai, and everything else that was going on in my life. So I texted Claire that I would be a bit late going home and I decided to work on the second ship. I tackled the brake system first, which was a fairly easy and simple fix, but the warp drive was a bit more difficult. I took a look at it, took it apart, and then put it back together. I realized that there was going to be no fixing it, and that it actually needed to be fully replaced. I would need to order the part, so maybe when it showed up in a couple of days I would go over replacing warp cores with my class. Just as I was walking off of the second ship I saw a new ship pulling in, so I made my way over to wave in the ship, not seeing the name. Of course, I realized the name once I saw him walk off the ramp of the ship.

John Pov:

I woke up sitting in the same position I had fallen asleep in, leading to a great popping sound, resounding from my back as I stretched out. I tried to figure out what had woken me up, but I couldn't figure it out. I layed down, hoping to get back to sleep, but realized, even before I heard a knock at my door, that I wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon. Of course, that was when I heard the second knock, and I decided I would let whoever it was in.

I opened the door to find Bones and I immediately knew that it was Cap who wanted to talk to me, "What does he want?"

"He just wants to talk, he wants to figure things out with you," he said, motioning for me to walk with him.

I slipped on a pair of shoes, to go with my clothes, and ran my hand through my hair quickly. I made my way out the door, beginning to walk with Bones. We walked in silence for about a minute before he broke the silence.

"So how long have you been thinking about leaving the ship?" he asked me, looking ahead as we walked.

"Cap put the idea in my head about a week ago, and I mean, I've seriously been thinking about it. And now I guess it's going to happen," I responded with a shrug, giving him a sideways glance.

"You didn't actually think about it, did you," Bones replied, stopping me in the middle of the hallway looking me sternly in the eye.

"Well, I did, sorta, Cap not talking to me sealed the deal," I said, beginning to walk again, drawing near to the captain's quarters so that I could talk to Cap.

"Well just know that your home can be on this ship if you want it to be, don't let Jim make your decisions for you," he said, turning to walk away, "But, maybe some time around people your age will help you learn more."

"Thanks, I'll remember that," I told him as I knocked on the door to the captain's quarters.

"Come in!" I heard a muffled voice call from inside, to which the door opened for me to walk through.

"You wanted to see me?" I said, standing at attention as he moved to look at me.

"At ease," Cap said, leaning against his desk as he looked at me, "So Yorktown?"

"I guess, you know anyone I can stay with?"

"Not yet, but hopefully I'll find someone before we are done with the tune ups on the ship," he responded, "John, just so you know… I, well, I didn't mean to shut you out."

"It's fine Cap, really, you don't have to explain. I get it," I said with a small shrug.

"No, John, it's not," he continued, "I shouldn't have shut you out like that, I just didn't know how to respond, but now that I've had time to think and process… I guess what I'm saying is that I want to be your father figure, if you want me to be. And you can even call me dad or something if you want."

I looked at him, shocked, but instead of saying nothing I decided to crack a joke, "Well how about Pops?"

"I will never respond to the name Pops, I don't even know why you would ask that," Jim joked, shoving me playfully, "I'm glad you chose the new adventure. It'll be good for you, and safer too."

"You sound like an ad campaign for not joining Starfleet," I said, laughing and looking at him, "You really want to be my dad?"

"I already act like it, so I figure why not?" he said, making his way to the door, "Well I will let you go back to your room to pack, we're going to be landing soon, but you just need to have everything ready. You'll stay on the ship until I find somewhere good for you to stay."

"Sounds good to me," I said watching him walk away, adding softly, "dad."

I made my way to my bunk and started packing my things, I didn't have much because I had only been on the ship for four years, so I was packed within a few hours. Once I was done packing I made my way up to the bridge to see how far away from Starbase Yorktown we were.

"Hey kid how's it going?" Jim asked me, looking happier than usual.

"It's good, I'm all packed," I said, looking up at him.

"Good, because we're going through our landing sequences now. Go ahead and take a seat next to Uhura," Cap said, pointing to the back of the bridge.

"Sounds good pops," I said quickly, moving out of reach before he could mess with me for calling him pops.

"I'm gonna get you for that one kid," he said with a chuckle.

"I know."

We went through the landing sequences and pulled into one of the hangar bays. I watched as one of the mechanics waved us into place, and once we were officially parked I got up and made my way over to Cap.

"Is it time to see my new home?" I asked him jokingly.

"Yeah, I think it is," He said with a small laugh as we walked to the platform.

"You just have to find someone he still has a good connection with," Uhura said as she followed, "Most of the time Jim burns the bridges he needs in the long run."

"I wouldn't put it past him," I said jokingly as we walked down the platform, "Cap? You there?"

I almost ran into Jim because he had stopped three quarters of the way down the platform. At first I couldn't tell why he had stopped, but then I saw his gaze was looking towards the mechanic who was standing in front of the Enterprise. I could tell by the way he had stopped that there was something different about that woman, I guess I would just have to wait and see what it was.


	10. Chapter 9: Long Time No See

Alex Pov:

The moment I saw him I stopped in my tracks, my eyes growing wide as I realized everything that I would have to explain if he recognized me. I laughed out loud, smiling to myself, like Captain James T. Kirk would remember some girl he had a couple of one night stands with. I made my way over to grab my clipboard so that I could take down any notes on what the Enterprise needed, and then I needed to find their head mechanic so I could confer with them about the work that needed to be done.

" _Where did I put my pencil?"_ I thought to myself, patting down my pockets and feeling around under the scattered things on my desk, " _Of course, one day and I've already misplaced every single…"_

"If you're looking for a pencil, there's one behind your ear," a familiar voice said, causing me to jump.

I reached up to feel behind my ear, and grasped my pencil from its perch on my ear. I blushed a bit, and turned around extending my hand for a shake, "Oh, um thanks. You must be Captain Kirk, I'm…"

"Alex, and you know better than to address me with my father's name. I'm still Jim, just like I've always been," He said, grinning at me, as he leaned against my desk.

"You remember?" I asked him, flushing with embarrassment, covering my eyes with my hand.

"Who could ever forget you? Top female mechanic of your class! Sorry, top mechanic of your class. You should be on a ship! What are you doing here?" Jim asked, waving his arms around excitedly.

"Well, James, I'm not sure if you remember, but as of the last time we saw each other, I had a toddler. And a few months after you left I had another kid, so I settled down for a typical mechanics job so that I could raise my kids. Now I'm here as a teacher for some Starfleet program," I said, rubbing the back of my neck slowly, "Well I've got to go check in with your mechanic, do you want to come over for dinner or something? No, obviously, you're probably too busy for any of that, just forget I asked."

"I'd love to Alex, and could I bring a plus one?" he asked looking at my shocked face, "I'll take as a yes, and you're going to want to go find Scotty. Now as you said, I must be busy so I'll get out of your hair, and back to my crew."

"Um, yes, okay, sounds great. How does seven sound?" I asked, making my way to a man in a red shirt, who seemed to be talking about the warp core of the ship.

"Sounds great," Jim replied.

' _I'm having dinner with James, Jim… with Jim again. What did I even? Seven? That's an hour and a half from now! I have to get home and get started on something, not that I have any clue what to make for four people.'_

"Lieutenant Douglas, I presume?" a thick scottish accent asked in my direction.

"Scotty, I presume?" I responded in the same tone.

"Aye, lassie."

"Does your ship need anything while you are all relaxing here at Yorktown?"

"Not that I know of. She runs so well she purrs like a little kitten. You could check up on things and tune her up, if ya like," Scotty replied.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll get started on that in the morning, if that sounds good to you?" I asked, writing down a few notes on my clipboard.

"Fantastic Lieutenant Douglas, it'll be a pleasure to have your help."

With that I bid Scotty farewell, and set down my clipboard, choosing to organize my desk before I left. Once my desk was organized I left for my house, trying to remember what I had bought the previous night so that I could attempt an impressive meal for Jim.

John Pov:

I gave Cap a little shove to keep walking as we left the Enterprise. I couldn't figure out why he would stop and stare at some woman, I mean, he only ever stared at women he had seen before or someone he wanted to hit on. This was a whole different kind of stare, and after I gave him a slight push I watched him proceed to approach this lady that I had never met. I made my way to follow him, but felt a pull on my shoulders holding me back.

"Let him deal with this one himself, bud," Bones said, leading me in another direction while we waited for Cap.

I sat down and watched the two interact from afar, the woman seemed to be blushing, then she turned even more red, but not from anger. I guess it could have been embarrassment? I decided to just talk to Bones while I waited, but when I turned to him he was gone and I was all alone. I pulled the pack that I had brought out with me and grabbed out my sketchbook, beginning to sketch a drawing of part of the Enterprise. I was detailing some of the lettering when I heard footsteps approaching, so I looked up and noticed that Cap was almost to me, with a big smile on his face.

"What's up?" I asked him, giving him a curious glance.

"We have plans for the evening," Cap responded, grabbing me by the shoulders as he directed me away from the ship, and out of the hangar.

"Really?"

"We have dinner plans," he said with a wink.

I nodded along with him, "Okay, so when is that? Like what time?"

"Oh we still have a couple hours, so what do you want to do before then? I was thinking you might want to check out this school we're at and see if you want to go here? We could talk to Admiral Johnson and see if we can get you tested later today or tomorrow. If that's alright with you," Cap said beginning to trail off, realizing he must sound a little too excited.

"How do you know so much about the school here? And, yeah, I guess that'd be alright with me, if I'm gonna stay then I might as well go to school," I said with a shrug as Cap lead me to the Admiral's office. I tried to think about what classes I might end up taking, but I wasn't sure what classes they even offered at this school.

"I don't know much, but if it's anything like the school I went to, then you're going to be hating it until you graduate. Just try not to get into as much trouble as I used to, I don't want to have to cross the galaxy just to tell you how much trouble you're in," Cap said, shoving me playfully.

"Yeah, sure whatever you say," I began with a pause, adding quietly, "dad."

We reached a door with one of those windows you can't really see through with Adm. Johnson set in the middle of it. Cap rapped his knuckles on the wood of the door a couple of times before standing at attention. I gave him a bit of a side glance, but followed suit and stood at attention, even though I wasn't in a uniform of any kind.

The door opened and the Admiral welcomed us in, after telling us to be at ease, and told us we could each take a seat. By the end of the meeting we had lined up a time the next day for me to see where I tested into at the school and what classes might be my strengths or weaknesses. I would also be meeting with the school nurse and shrink to determine how I would interact with other students and teachers in the school, as well as how my immune system would hold up in an atmosphere other than what is on the Enterprise.

Cap asked me to leave for a moment while he spoke to the Admiral without me. I can only assume that he was informing the Admiral of my past, well the past that either of us knew about. None of us knew what else there was in my past, seeing as in the original explosion all trace of my prior life had been erased. Cap had tried to find out all he could for me, which turned out to be nothing, as usual. Maybe I could learn something new, if someone could find my old school records with a picture or something then maybe. Of course, that curiosity would have to be saved for another time because just as I started thinking about it all, Cap walked out of the office and motioned for me to follow him.

"Now we're going to dinner," he said with a bit of a grin.

"Hey Cap, who was that lady from earlier? That mechanic you were talking to," I ask, looking at him while we walk.

"Oh, well she's someone from my past," he said with a shrug.

"Well your past does have a lot of girls in it," I added with a chuckle, watching as he stopped in front of me.

He turned around at lightning speed, pushing me up against the wall, but not too hard, "Don't ever compare her to those other girls." Realizing what had come over him, Cap let me go and started walking again.

"Jeez Cap, sorry," I said, adjusting my shirt back to where it had been, "I didn't know she meant anything to you. They don't typically."

"Please don't follow me in my footsteps of liking women," he said, letting out a groan, "And you're right she's different, but it doesn't matter. Don't embarrass me tonight, please."

"Why pops," I said with a bit of a gasp in my voice, moving out of his reach, "Me embarrass you? Never."

"You wish never," he said with a chuckle, "We might get there a little early, but try not to pry into her life, okay?"

"If that is what you wish, then it is my pleasure," I said with a laugh as we walked up some stairs towards the second story of an apartment complex. I watched as Cap moved towards a door and knocked on it, a few moments later it opened, and we walked in.


End file.
